Hi All

Its been a long time since I have been on here so I hope that you are all well.

I have a 3 1/2 year old entire male staffie. He has been off his food for the last few days and I just put it down to the fact that he is missing my mum who he loves and who has stayed with us for a few days and the fact that, being a creature of habit, we have really upset his routine by being home all bank holiday weekend. Being off his food is not entirely unusual for my boy; hes never been very food orientated and does sometimes go a day or 2 with no interest in food. I obviously just make sure that he drinks plenty of water and keep an eye on his weight and energy levels etc. However, im starting to wonder if this is the case this time round, or whether its a symptom of something more.....

When he gets excited its not unusual for him to 'tinkle' a little; just a spot or 2. He just did this and unfortunately for my OH did it up his leg :D and then did it as he got a little closer to me where I was sitting on the other side of the room. I happened to notice that there were a few spots on the carpet and they were reddish in colour. When I got over to where he had done it to my husband, the 2 or 3 spots on the carpet looked like pure blood. The blood is very red and seemed quite thick. I had a look at his privates and although I could only see the outer area, there were no cuts or scratches but there was a weak bloody/urine residue round the tip of his penis. He is completely fine in himself (other than the lack of interest in food) and still bouncing round like nobodys business. He has had a nice long walk today, is playing around and even showed some interest in his food this morning and I havent noticed him wanting to pee anymore or any less than usual. To be honest, if I hadnt noticed the blood I never would have suspected anything was wrong.

The only thing that I can think of is that one of his staffie friends showed some signs of having a water infection on Friday; she pee'd about 7 times in 10 minutes although I have no idea whether blood was present. After a few doses of Cranberry Juice she is now showing signs of a complete recovery but I wondered whether it could be connected in anyway? Being an entire and pervy male he is always sniffing and licking at her rear end!!

I will of course see the vet first thing tomorrow, but given that its a bank holiday weekend and I am doing my best worrying mum routine, I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on what it might be??? Is the lack of interest in food a well known symptom of anything to do with wee infections or likley to be a coincidence? He did eat his dinner last night after I added a little bit of his favourite: cheese!

Many Thanks in anticipation
Anxious of Dartford :)

It could be something like a bladder infection, or a prostate problem like an enlarged prostate or infection, or bladder stones. Dorain has a chronic cystitis that usually stays well under control but has flared up a couple of times, which means he gets symptoms like that (with him it's always hard to tell if he's weeing more cos he cocks his leg up everything anyway!). Good luck at the vets, it might be worth taking a urine sample with you (off the dog ;) ).

Thank you for your reply.

If it was cystitis would he be showing signs of being in pain tho? How 'fresh' does a urine sample need to be? Im thinking that I may need to just take my chances between now and taking him to the vet and just catch some wee when I can! If I can get some tonight, would it be fresh enough for the vet tomorrow?

Thanks again, Im feeling a little calmer now. Im sure its something and nothing although I will err on the side of caution anyway. Why does it always happen on BH weekend?!! :)

Hi,
   l had a male yorky once that had blood in his urine and it turned out he had an enlarged prostate, he also went off his food at the same time, although he was 15 when it happened and lve heard its more common in older entire dogs, but be did become quite ill with it quite quickly, so if your dog is happy enough, apart from being of his food then hopefully its something less serious, probably a urinary tract infection or something.
Good luck at the vets.

Cystitis is sore I have found personally, but Dorain didn't seem bothered when he had his problem - I only noticed because of the blood. The urine sample's meant to be as fresh as poss, ideally from first thing in the morning. :) If you get it the day before I think you're meant to keep it in the fridge to keep it fresh - but I've not fancied that myself so just get them in the morning!!!

I've had a male dog with cystitis (14 years old). He was off his food for a day or 2 & didn't show any signs of being in pain. He then started weeing more than normal and rapidly progressed (within 12 hours), to wetting him self, producing huge puddles that looked like pure blood, but still didn't appear in pain :( Very scarey, due to his age I thought he was dying of bladder cancer or something :(

I'm not saying your dog will get this bad or that quickly, just that every dog will react differently and they don't appear to find it as painful as we do. It could be other things, but at his age is most likely cystitis, which responds (in my personal experience & in my dogs experience), very quickly to antibiotics.

Try encouraging him to drink more water (diluting the urine & help stopping it sting on the way out). The first urine of the day is the best one to get for the sample as munrogirl said, it is likely to look a lot more bloody that the ones later in the day, so don't panick if it is.

I'm sure he'll be fine :)

Let us know how he gets on at the vets.

Oh bless you, that must have been awful. Thank you (all) for your replies. Its been really helpful. He has since, with a bit of cheese mixed into his dinner, eaten it. He as also been on the scrounge for scraps of chinese food too so I think that he hasnt really got a loss of appetite, I think he just doesnt want to eat his own food. I have also checked his wee quite frequently and there seems to be no more blood now. However,I will take all your advice on board and thanks again for the reassurance. I will let you know how we get on at the vets.
x

It's good he;s had some food :)

It may well br that he just had a touch of mild cystitis and he's faught it off himself, but you are wise to take him to the vets anyway, at the very least it will put your mind at rest :)

My advice is take you dog to the vets, without seeing the dog only guess work. Best person to find out and get the right treatment is the vets. Good Luck.

Well we have been to the vets and as I expected after trawling the net yesterday, he has a prostate infection. He is really well in himself and did his normal chimp act in the vets of screeching his head off and wanting to play. We talked about the fact that he wasnt eating his own food but that he still wanted to eat everyones dinner last night and she didnt seem overly concerned about that because it seems more about his preference than anything else. She also asked me if he was drinking more or less which hes not, it all seems normal there; hes never been a big drinker, a fact that I have discussed with the vets before and jointly were not concerned about as he has meat rather than dry food which obviously has a high water content. He did have a drink last night though so thats good. I told her that he his not peeing or pooing (other than linked to the fact that hes not getting his normal food intake) any more or less than usual and doesnt seem in any pain or discomfort when he does. She got the thermometer out and he wasnt even facing her but seemed to know what she was going to do and promptly sat down! She then did a rectal exam and the poor little love nearly hit the ceiling. His prostate is enlarged with the infection and its this thats causing the blood. I didnt manage to collect a urine sample (wasnt quick enough) ready for today but have to get one and take it back and she has prescribed strong antibiotics as the prostate is quite hard to reach. He has had his first already hidden in some cheese and is likely to be on them between 2 and 4 weeks. I am hoping that the fact that he seems to be showing few symptoms may mean that we have caught it early and should therefore (fingers crossed) be easier to treat. In addition, he will need to be castrated to prevent it from happening again which we will arrange over the next few weeks. I now feel extremely guilty because prostate infections are very common (apparently) in entire males and if had had him done when he was younger, he wouldnt have this infection now.

I desperately want to get some more water down him but as hes not a big drinker its hard. Does anyone have any tips? Could I give him some milk in addition to his water? He seems to like milk and will drink it but although I am aware that its not as good as water, Im not sure whether it will help to flush the infection at all. Any thoughts?

Also, given that hes poorly at the moment (not so you would know!) and not really interested in his own food, do you think I should give him something different like chicken and rice just so as he is eating or should I let things take their course?

Sorry for all the questions and I know I should have asked the vet but I was in such a panic my mind went blank.

Thanks for all your help x

By all means put some milk in his water; watery chicken stock (from a real chicken, not a stock cube!) is another thing that will often get them drinking more fluid.

Hopefully the ABs will sort him out - and don't feel guilty about not castrating him before; loads of entire males live their lives with no problems from their prostates at all.

Thanks Jan, you always say the right things! Great idea about the chicken stock, I will get boiling now.
I hope youre well.
x

Hi,
   l answered your post the other day as my yorky had an enlarged prostate. Dont feel guilty about not having him "done", apart from one female dog l have always had entire males, of all different breeds and cross breeds, and he was the only one that developed an enlarged prostate. At least you know what it is now and can have him done so as not to have it happen again.
When l brush my dogs teeth and he has some residue toothpaste in his mouth l drop a bit of meat in his water and this encourages him to drink as he tries to get the meat, so washes his mouth as well.
You could try dropping a piece of his favorite meat into his water while he's watching and that might make him drink, and if he does just clean the bowl and replace the water, and do it each time you want him to drink more. A piece of chicken or beef does the trick every time.
Also some broth made from chicken and veg is also good.

Many years ago my dog had the same it turned out it was cystitis,plus a bladder infection.He had to have a course of antibiotics followed by a bladder washout.He never had it again.He is now 14 going on 15.I hope it's the same for your Staffie, andit all turns out well for him.

Yes, I read your post which is what made me do some net research and prepared me for today so thank you for that - although sorry your yorkie went through this! Hes such a fussy so and so that I dont think the meat in water will work with him but great tip for anyone else that has a similar problem. My house now smells of boiled chicken and he cant stop licking his lips so fingers crossed!!! Although I was just on the phone and missed a great opportunity to get a wee sample from him ...........................

Please take your dog back to the vets and ask for a blood test to rule out kidney problems. We lost our previous GSD who was dripping pure blood (it was not in his urine). The first time I saw it the vet thought he had a slightly enlarged prostate. A few months later when I noticed it a few times again the vet thought that, as it was not in his urine, and just pure blood, that he had probably burst a small blood vessel in his penis. A few weeks later I came home to an enormous puddle of urine on my kitchen floor, something my dog had never done before. I took him to the vets again this time seeing another vet who knew straight away that it was probably his kidneys and took a blood sample.(which showed he was in kidney failure) It was to late,he aged rapidly before our eyes and died within 2 days. The vets said it was because he was 10 and that this is old for a GSD, but we wondered if the first time we saw blood that he may have picked up a kidney infection and that without any treatment it damaged one kidney and then the other. I really am sorry if I have worried you,and that your dogs problem turns out to be cystitis or  an enlarged prostate, but I'd take him for the blood test, just in case. Let me know what happens.

Hi All - Just thought I would update you

Pammy - So sorry to hear your story!

Fortunately for us, our story has a happier ending. As I advised before Sox was diagnosed with a prostate infection. He was put on a good dose of AB's and very quickly showed signs of getting better. His appetite returned and he also quickly stopped producing semen containing blood. He has had his prostate checked several times and although it is still the tiniest bit uncomfortable to the touch (understandably!!) each time it has been checked it has been much better so he has responded well. Reluctantly, I had him castrated 3 weeks ago as the vet felt this was the best way to see off the infection which can be hard for AB's to reach and may help to prevent the return of the infection at a later date. He responded very well to the castration, never worrying the stitches or general area and within 12 hours was behaving as tho nothing had happened. He has been on AB's for about 4-5 weeks now and finished them yesterday and thankfully doesnt need anymore or any further post op check ups. We just need to keep an eye on him for a week or 2 more to make sure the blood doesnt return.

PLUS...We have had a little bonus too. My boy, although generally very sweet and loving, has not been without his share of remperament problems since he was about 18 months old and we have been working through them. He had a huge problem with my OH (I have to accept responsibility for this as I have spoled him in the past) and he recently bit my husband which obviously we were hugely concerned about!! We had considered castration before because of this but the vet advised that the behaviour was likely to have been 'learned' now and although he was pro castration had to admit that there was a fair chance it wouldnt fully cure the temp problems. BUT...Someone has taken my grumpy but loving little lad and swapped him with a playful and well behaved little man - or at least thats the conclusion we have drawn. Within a week of castration he was showing signs of improvement and now hes like the dog he was at 18 months old - before he changed almost overnight. We realise that this is not the case with every case of castration but cant help but be over the moon that not only have we managed to return him to physical health but also good mental health too. We will continue to work with him as we had done previously because obviously an op wont solve everything but I would say hes 99% there. Most of all we are chuffed that he seems sooooooooo much happier than before - even if he is missing a vital part of his manhood! As I speak, he is curled up with my OH and its a joy to see.

Once again, thank you for all your advice and support during what was a difficult time, it really helped.

Cx